David Gordon Green Directing New Friday Night Lights Film

2004's Friday Night Lights was a well-regarded (if not exactly wildly profitable) movie, but really burrowed its way into the consciousness with the Kyle Chandler/Connie Britton-led TV series that ran for five years. Now Universal is looking to turn the story into a film once again, and David Gordon Green is on to direct.

Confusingly, this will not be a sequel to Peter Berg's original film, nor will it feature the characters from the show (which is a shame, as we'd be happy to watch more of Coach Taylor and his team) – despite, as Variety reports, the studio considering both options before opting to move on afresh.

It will, however, still draw from the HG Bissinger book, a non-fiction tome chronicling the 1988 Permian High School Panthers as the Texas team aims for the state championship. So expect the Texas setting and another high school team.

Green feels like a good choice for this story, since he got his start telling smaller-scale stories about realistic people. He's currently putting the finishing touches to the new Halloween film, which will stalk into cinemas on 19 October.